At 25, she married a fellow sniper, Alexei Kitsenko. She was promoted to Senior Sergeant in August 1941, when she reached 100 confirmed kills. Pavlichenko fought for about two-and-a-half months during the siege of Odessa and recorded 187 kills. She described the event as her 'baptism of fire' because that was when she officially became a sniper. Pavlichenko then shot her first two enemies and proved herself to her comrades.

On 8 August 1941, a fallen comrade handed her his MosinвЂ“Nagant model 1891 bolt-action rifle. Although she was assigned a combat role, she was issued with just a fragmentation grenade because of weapons shortages. There, she became one of 2,000 female snipers in the Red Army, of whom about 500 survived the war. After seeing that she had completed multiple training courses, it finally let her in the army as a sniper, and she was assigned to the Red Army's 25th Rifle Division. The registrar pushed Pavlichenko to be a nurse, but she refused. Pavlichenko was among the first round of volunteers at the Odessa recruiting office, where she requested to join the infantry. In June 1941, Pavlichenko was aged 24 in her fourth year studying history at Kyiv University when Nazi Germany began its invasion of the Soviet Union. It is thought by Julie Wheelwright that some biographical details may have been changed or omitted altogether.

She was also enrolled in a military-style sniping school for six months by the Red Army. There, she competed on the university's track team as a sprinter and pole vaulter. She enrolled at Kyiv University in 1937, where she studied history and intended to be a scholar and teacher. During the day, she worked as a grinder at the Kyiv Arsenal factory. She attended night school as well as performing household chores. However, the marriage was soon dissolved, and Lyudmila returned to live with her parents. In 1932, she married Alexei Pavlichenko, and gave birth to a son, Rostislav (1932вЂ“2007). In Kiev, she joined an OSOAVIAKhIM shooting club, developed into an amateur sharpshooter and earned her Voroshilov Sharpshooter badge and a marksman certificate. As a child, Lyudmila was a self-described tomboy, who was fiercely competitive at athletic activities. The family moved to Kiev when Lyudmila was aged 14. Lyudmila Belova was born to Russian parents in Bila Tserkva, Kiev Governorate in the Russian Empire (now in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine) on 12 JulyВ В 1916, to Mikhail Belov, a locksmith from Petrograd and his wife Elena Trofimovna Belova (1897вЂ“1972). After the war ended in 1945, she was reassigned as a Senior Researcher for the Soviet Navy. In 1942, she toured the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. After she had recovered from her injuries she trained other Red Army snipers and was a public spokesperson for the Red Army. She served in the Red Army during the siege of Odessa and the siege of Sevastopol, during the early stages of the fighting on the Eastern Front.ДЄfter she was injured in battle by a mortar shell, she was evacuated to Moscow.

Pavlichenko was called 'Lady Death' for her ability with a sniper rifle. Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, ( Russian: Р›СЋРґРјРёМЃР»Р° РњРёС…Р°МЃР№Р»РѕРІРЅР° РџР°РІР»РёС‡РµМЃРЅРєРѕ Ukrainian: Р›СЋРґРјРёР»Р° РњРёС…Р°Р№Р»С–РІРЅР° РџР°РІР»РёС‡РµРЅРєРѕ, nГ©e Belova 12 JulyВ В 1916В вЂ“ 10 October 1974) was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II, who was credited with 309 confirmed kills, making her the most successful female sniper in recorded history. Senior Researcher with rank of Major in the Soviet NavyДҐ4th Stenka Razin Rifle Regiment in 25th Rifle Division

Lyudmila pavlichenko son